Top 10 travel ideas for September

Monsoon might not be great this year but September is still fun. Rains have already subsided, although they were never so severe this season. Not many holidays in store, but still month is full of activity. From monsoon festivals to, music festivals and a whole lot of religious occasions from Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Puja, many things are in store. Also is the time to re-plan all those missed trips, where it won’t be possible to go, once the winter starts. Have a go…

Monsoon Festival at Saputara

Monsoon festival is already underway and it continues for 35 days. Situated in densely forested plateau in the Sahayadri range, Saputara holds the distinction of being the only hill station in Gujarat. Saputara has been developed as a planned hill resort with amenities like hotels, parks, boat clubs and museums to ensure an enjoyable holiday for everyone in the cool of hills. The drive to Saputara is breathtaking with the serpentine road commencing from Waghai. The hill station is most enjoyable in the monsoon when clouds descend on the land. One can see brooks and streams flowing down the valley which makes for a spectacular haven for trekkers as well, as there are numerous forest trails. So every year there is a monsoon festival almost a month long to give you ample time to be part of the festivities. Tourists can enjoy Saputara at its best. One can hire services of a local guide to roam around. Echo point, Wagah Bari, Step Garden, Artistic village, Log huts, Saputara museum, Lake, Sunset point, ropeway are among the spots, one can enjoy. So go and breathe in the freshness of Saputara with is echoing green hues, lush with flowers, and watch the meditating rain drops sitting still on sloping leaves. Some of the thickest forest cover in the state of Gujarat envelops you. Drench yourself in nature and fun!

Date: 16th August 2015 to 20th September 2015

Venue: Saputara, Gujarat

Getting there: Nearest railway station is Waghai, which is 50 kms from Saputara city center. While nearest airport is Surat, almost 156 kms from here. Saputara is well connected through roads to major cities of state. Mumbai is just 255 kms from here via Nashik. Ahmedabad is 400 kms from here.

Janmashtami at Mathura

Birth of Krishna, one of the biggest annual festivals in Hindu mythology and there can be no other place better to celebrate this than Mathura, considered to be place of his birth in the prison and Gokul (Vrindavan) where he was brought up. It’s a day of traditional fasting until midnight, the time when Krishna is believed to have been born. At that time there are huge celebrations in the temples with special pujas and prasadas. But the intensity and traditions of celebrations in Mathura-Vrindavan region are entirely different from rest of the country. At many place such as Nandgaon the celebrations will start as early as from Raksha Bandhan and will continue till Radhashtami. All households in the area will celebrate the day as birth of child in their own homes. At Gokul, next day after Janmashtami, there will be a huge celebration of Nandotsava in memory of the day when whole area came to know that a child is born to Nanda and Yashoda in Gokul. Best time to visit these places, to understand the culture and to soak into a very distinct celebration and festivities. Mathura is close and loaded with all type of staying options.

Date: 5th September 2015

Venue: Mathura/Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh

Getting there: Mathura is less than two hours journey from Delhi and just an hours journey from Agra. It is on main rail route connecting Delhi to central and southern India. Many tourists will plan a trip to Mathura and Agra together.

Another Kailash on Manimahesh Yatra

It’s very interesting that we consider it unsafe to go to hills during rains, but still most of the pilgrimages in hills do take place only during rains- may be it is Kailash-Mansarovar or Amarnath or Chardham or Chota Kailash. Almost all of them are related to mythical abodes of Shiva. Another one among the list is Manimahesh in Himachal. Manimahesh is a high altitude lake at an altitude of 13,500 feet. On the east of this lake is Kailash Mountain with an altitude of 18,564 feet. They both come in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh. Every year there is a pilgrimage from Hudsor to Manimahesh Lake (15 kms). Earlier this Yatra used to start from Bharmaur, but since now Hudsor has become a road head, people have started walking on foot from Hudsor. There is no exact version of how this Yatra started, but it indeed is many centuries old. Bharmaur and Chamba are historical cities with versions dating back after 550 A.D. Temples in Bharmaur are architectural beauties. And Yatra is also a trekkers’ delight. Yatra normally starts on Janmashtami and ends on Radhashtami.

Date: 5th to 21st September 2015

Venue: Hudsor (Bharmaur), Dist- Chamba, Himachal Pradesh

Getting there: Hudsor is 17 kms from Bharmaur and 82 kms from Chamba. Pathankot at distance of 220 kms is the closest convenient railhead, from where you can take buses to Chamba and then Bharmaur.

Ganesh Chaturthi in Mumbai

The spirit of this festival is contagious. Biggest annual occasion for most of Maharashtra and Marathis elsewhere. It has been filmed so many times in Bollywood that it needs no introduction. Perhaps the most filmed festival after Holi in films. Of recently the constant media coverage of ten day celebrations has made many of those Ganesha temples popular among non Marathis as well, maybe it Siddhivinayak or Lalbaugcha Raja. But celebrities and celebrated temples have changes the complexion of the festival too much. To enjoy traditional festivities join a family celebration. This is the day when Lord Ganesha is brought home and given his seat for ten days’ pooja. Weeks or even months before Ganesh Chaturthi, artistic clay models of Lord Ganesha are made for sale by specially skilled artisans. They are beautifully decorated and depict Lord Ganesh in vivid poses. Also called as Vinayak Chaturthi this is the day when mythologically Ganesha was born. The main sweet dish during the festival is the modak, a dumpling made from rice flour/wheat flour with a stuffing of fresh or dry-grated coconut, jaggery, dry fruits and some other condiments.

Date: 17th September 2015

Venue: All your Marathi friends

Getting there: Mumbai… Pune…

Remembering a saint at RamdevraFair

Situated about 12 kms to the north of Pokhran, the village of Ramdevra known after Baba Ramdev, a Tanwar Rajput and a saint who took Samadhi (conscious exit from the mortal body) in 1458 AD. He had miraculous powers and his fame reached far and wide. Legend goes that five Pirs (saints) from Mecca came here to test his power and after being convinced, paid their homage to him. Since then he is venerated by Muslims also as Ram Shah Pir. The Hindus regard him as an incarnation of Lord Krishna. Near the village, there is a tank known as Ramsar tank which is believed to have been constructed by Baba Ramdev himself. A large step well, the Parcha Baori is also situated nearby. Baba Ram Dev believed in the equality of all human beings, both high and low, rich and poor. He helped the down-trodden by granting them their wishes. Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner constructed a temple around the ‘samadhi’ in 1931 AD. Rice, coconuts, churma and wooden horses (toys) are offered to Ramdevji by the devotees. A large fair is held here from Bhadon Sudi 2 to Bhadon Sudi 11 (August – September) which is attended by lakh of devotees who come in large groups from far and wide. Irrespective of their caste, creed or religious affiliations, these devotees throng the shrine dedicated to the saint. These groups organise night long singing of bhajans and kirtans to pay homage to Baba.

Date: 15th to 24th September 2015

Venue: Pokhran, Rajasthan

Getting there: Ramdevra village lies about 12 kms. from Pokhran in Jaisalmer district. Pokhran is connected to Jodhpur by a metalled road as well as by Rail. Ramdevra can be reached from Jodhpur and Pokhran by bus. Jodhpur has an airport.

Covelong Point Classic Surf Contest and Music Festival

Three days filled with surf, yoga, sun and sand, three nights that come alive with the sound of music – the Covelong Point Classic Surf Contest and Music Festival is back for its third edition! What started as a dream, has now become a three day international event – fisherman turned surfer Murthy Megavan always dreamed of starting his own surf school, and today that dream stands tall as a beautiful reality on the shores of Covelong, as the Covelong Point Social Surf School. In 2013, when the TTK Group and EarthSync tied up with the Surfing Federation of India, together they created the Covelong Point Classic Surf and Music Festival. This year the festival has also tied up with the Asian Surfing Championship. The three days of surfing will witness participants from around India and the globe competing in an exhilarating display of raw surfing talent, while the music festival expands this year to include three stages. This surf competition and music festival brings together surf talent from around the world, and an exciting line up of musicians from around India and the globe. Before the festival, the national surf competition takes place on September 17th & 18th and will see the best Indian surfers competing to qualify for the Asian Surfing Championship – which happens during the festival from September 19th – 20th. The primary aim of the festival is to use surfing as a catalyst for positive change, empowering the local community with initiatives surrounding their passion for surfing. It is a passion for surfing, a love of music from around the world, and a deep connection to the ocean that continues to drive the festival’s spirit, year after year

Date: 18th to 20th September 2015

Venue: Covelong Point Social Surf School, Kovalam Village, Chennai

Ladakh Festival

The main aim of organising this festival in the month of September is to extend the lean tourist season in the region and also to represent and propagate the rich cultural heritage of the area. The grand success of the festival and the tremendous response from both foreign and home tourists is due to the rich cultural heritage and variety of other attractive programmes like traditional Polo match and Village archery. The famous monastic dance in the monasteries including exhibitions of invaluable Thankas and other Ritual Instruments of the monasteries. The tourists have the opportunities to see the entire traditional cultural programme of the region like Traditional Folk dance and songs of different parts of Ladakh. The grand achievements of the Ladakh Festival are noticeable of the significant increase in the arrivals of tourists during the lean tourist season of the year.Ladakh festival is celebrated from 20th to 26th September, every year in Leh and its villages. The inauguration ceremony of the festival takes place in Leh on a large scale with a procession of several cultural troupes from different part of the region which traverses through Leh Market. There is dancing, singing, traditional music, people wearing colourful traditional Ladakhi dresses. It comes to end at the Polo ground. The festival is for 6 days with regular celebration in various villages including archery, polo, and masked dances from the monasteries and dances by cultural troupes from the villages. There are musical concerts too. Best part is, that this is one of the best time to go to Ladakh region, just before the onset of winter.

Date: 20th to 26th September 2015

Venue: Leh, Ladakh

EAT, DRINK, MERRY! at Ziro

Ziro Festival of Music 2014 will be the third edition of what is probably the most fun outdoor music festival in the country. So far ZFM has featured stellar acts from around the world including Lee Ranaldo & Steve Shelley (SONIC YOUTH -USA), Lou Majaw, menwhopause, Shaa’ir n Func, Whirling Kalapas, Sky Rabbit, Peter cat recording Co, Guru Rewben Mashangva among others. The 2014 edition will be over four days and will feature top indi acts from across the globe as well as the best folk musicians from the North East. Ziro is primarily home to the Apatanis – simple, friendly and hospitable people with an interesting culture and legacy. They are a non-nomadic, agrarian tribe who share a responsible relationship with nature. Apatanis cultivate permanent wet land cultivations instead of dry land cultivations which involves burning forests. Ziro valley is lush with paddy farms and is known for its unique paddy cum fi sh cultivation where using traditional irrigation methods, farmers rear fish in the knee-deep water. Keeping them company are the adorable, shy, and harmless Indian Bisons. All visitors – Indian and foreigners – to Arunachal Pradesh need special permits to enter the state. Indians need an Inner Line Permit (ILP) and foreigners require a Protected Area Permit.

Date: 24th to 27th September 2015

Venue: Ziro in Arunachal Pradesh

Getting there: Ziro is the district headquarters of Lower Subansiri district in Arunachal Pradesh (India) and is situated 167km from the capital, Itanagar. It is one of the oldest towns in Arunachal Pradesh in a valley at a height of over 5500 feet above sea level surrounded by misty mountains. The nearest airport is Tezpur. However, flights to Tezpur are often cancelled without reason. The best option is to fly to Guwahati and do the road journey. The nearest railhead is North Lakhimpur by Arunachal Express from New Bongaigaon. Direct buses are available from Guwahati, Itanagar and North Lakhimpur.

Ganpati Bappa Morya

Ananta Chaturdashi is the 10th and penultimate day of the great Ganesha Utsav or festival that begins with Vinayak Chaturthi. In Sanskrit, ‘Ananta’ means eternal and ‘Chaturdashi’ means fourteenth. As such, it falls on the 14th day of the bright fortnight or ‘Shukla Paksha’ of the Bhadrapada month in the Hindu calendar. Lord Ganesha is departed, only to be welcomed the next year with equal excitement. At the end of this day, Ganesha is given a grand farewell and the idols that were installed for the festival are carried to the nearby river, lake or sea front and immersed with a lot of devotion and fanfare amidst incessant chants of the slogan: “Ganpati bappa morya / Agle baras tu jaldi aa” – “O Lord Ganesha, come again next year.” It is celebrated across India, especially in the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Both males and females wear a sacred thread of Anant Chaudas round the neck, arm or sometimes tie it at the main entrance of their homes. It is believed that by doing this Lord Ganesh will bless them with prosperity, happiness and wealth while leaving the house and will take away all their sorrows and miseries.

Date: 27th September 2015

Venue: Juhu beach, Mumbai

Getting there: Beaches of Mumbai are the prime place for Ganapati immersion rituals.

Lasts of baths at Nasik Kumbh

For all those, who have not been able to make there yet. Kumbh Mela is one of the hallowed festivals of India and is organized at a big scale. According to the scholars, it is believed that when Gods and demons were having fight over the nectar then Lord Vishnu flew away with the pot of nectar spilling drops of nectar at four different places; where we celebrate Kumbh melas, those places were Hardwar, Nasik, Ujjain and Prayag. This year Kumbh Mela is celebrated at Trimbakeshwar in Nashik which is in Maharashtra. Trimbakeshwar is a holy town of Nasik as one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, Triyambakeshwar Jyotirlinga temple is situated there. Kumbh Mela in Nasik is celebrated once in every twelve years and is known as Sinhasta. Last time it was celebrated in 2003, which resulted into an incredible festive season for the people of Maharashtra in particular and people of India in general. People get away from their routine schedules and experienced spiritual ecstasy during Kumbh days. In 2015, Nasik again had an opportunity to host guests from every spot of the country and from all walks of life as Kumbh Mela started in Nasik from July 14 and will continue till September 25.